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R.H.I.E.L.D.
The R.H.I.E.L.D. (acronymn for Royal Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Directorate) is probably both the best known and the most secretive governmental organization of the Kingdom of New Tarajan. Tasked with both roles as an intelligence agency and a paramilitary organization, the R.H.I.E.L.D. is often seen by foreigners as the secret police of the Kingdom, due to its main purpose being the protection of the existing political regime in New Tarajan, in particular against any possible subversive activity which could target the Monarchy and its representatives. History An embryon of an espionage network aimed at protecting the Royal House from domestic threats already existed during the first decades of the Kingdom: in a period of constant fear that the Great Houses of the Landsraad could still attempt at reversing the prominence reached by House Van Vinkel and its role as Royal House of the newly-born Kingdom, it was King Heinrich III who first recognized the need for first-hand intelligence on the moves of the most dangerous Houses and their allies. Although extremely rudimental, such a network actually helped the king to obtain an outstanding (for the period) time of peace. However, at his death in 1613, the network began to crumble, and even a strong king as Heinrich IV proved unable (or unwilling) to keep it into function. The idea reemerged in the aftermath of the Liberal Revolution, but was put into full effect only in the last decades of the XIX century, when the murder of King Friederick II at the hands of a communist terrorist made the Court and the government too well aware of the need for further protection. The network of spies which was created then (and which soon assumed the characteristics of a true, although unofficial, secret police) helped checking the socialist, communist, and anarchist threat for two decades, until the Communist Revolution of 1919 didn't destroy the whole regime. When Monarchy was restored in 1944, it was only natural for an autocratic ruler as Conrad III, always suspicious and mistrustful of any concession to his former enemies, to create a new, full-fledged organization, with the sole purpose of protecting his own Kingdom. He laid the ground for his creation even before his arrival in Astana and the official proclamation of the reestablishment of the Kingdom, the 6th October 1944. That day, Conrad III authorized the creation of a new, secret, division of his army, made of the most loyal followers and proved supporters of the Monarchy. Its aim: "to identify, localize, contain, and eradicate any possible threat against the life and the very survival of the Monarchy and its leading institutions, regardless of the means to be employed". The official name of this new entity was established the following year, when it was also decided to split it from the army, giving it full independence. Since then, the RHIELD, with the full and continuous support of House Van Vinkel and the government, protected the Kingdom against a number of threats: in 1965, agents of the organization were able to thwart an attempt at assassinating Conrad III by a communist terrorist cell; the following year, the whole terrorist organization was dismantled, and two thousands people were executed on charges of treason and terrorism. In 1976, during the Ienaran War, RHIELD was officially deployed for the first time outside of Tarajani borders, in an attempt at disrupting UPS war efforts: the operations included infiltrations and assassinations of key UPS commanders, and an attempt, although unsuccessful, at stopping the Eurasian nuclear bombing of Ienara City in 1977. Role and Organization RHIELD functions as both an intelligence and a paramilitary entity, and is subdivided in a number of branches, each specializing in a specific function or in countering a specific threat. Thus, for example, providing intelligence falls under the responsibility of the Investigation and Intelligence Branch (InvIB), which coordinates the activities of all agents deployed inside and outside the Kingdom's borders, and also oversees satellite and other kinds of intelligence.